VIZ MEDIA CELEBRATES THE RETURN OF HUNTER X HUNTER MANGA SERIES TO THE PAGES OF WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP

The World’s Leading Digital Manga Anthology Debuts The Imaginative Bestselling Action/Adventure Series In June; New Exclusive Collectable YU-GI-OH! Trading Card Also Announced For WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP Subscribers

San Francisco, CA, April 29, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, delivers exciting news to manga (graphic novel) fans as it announces the return of Yoshihiro Togashi's acclaimed action/adventure, HUNTER X HUNTER.

The continuing series has been on hiatus, but returns on Monday, June 2nd with the simultaneous release of brand new chapters of a new story arc in the Japanese version of Weekly Shonen Jump as well as the North American digital counterpart that is published by VIZ Media. Catch the latest English issues of WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP at http://shonenjump.viz.com.

VIZ Media also delights North American WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP readers and subscribers with the announcement of the release of a brand new collectable YU-GI-OH! trading card. The latest card, Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Evening Twilight will be mailed to current subscribers in early August.

In the HUNTER X HUNTER manga series, Hunters are a special breed, dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and even other people. But such pursuits require a license, and less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the grueling qualification exam. Those who do pass gain access to restricted areas, amazing stores of information, and the right to call themselves Hunters.

VIZ Media publishes the long-running HUNTER X HUNTER manga series in-print and digitally and recently released the latest edition – Volume 32. Future dedicated print and digital volumes of the series will be published twice a year. VIZ Media is also the home media distributor of the HUNTER X HUNTER anime series on DVD.

HUNTER X HUNTER manga creator Yoshihiro Togashi's manga career began in 1986, at the age of 20, when he won the coveted Osamu Tezuka Award for new manga artists. He debuted in the Japanese Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1989 with the romantic comedy Tende Shawaru Cupid. From 1990 to 1994 he wrote and drew the hit manga series, YU YU HAKUSHO (also published by VIZ Media, rated ‘T’ for Teens), which was followed by the dark comedy science-fiction series, Level E, and the adventure series, HUNTER X HUNTER. In 1999 he married the manga artist Naoko Takeuchi.

WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP is VIZ Media’s renowned weekly digital serial anthology that features the synchronized latest chapters of a variety of popular manga series debuting on the same day as the Japanese Weekly Shonen Jump magazine counterpart. Subscribers can access issues via VIZManga.com, the VIZ Manga App, or with the Apple iPad Newsstand App.Exclusive 1 Year Memberships are available for only $25.99 and include 48 weekly digital issues as well as special premiums including 4 Yu-Gi-Oh! Collectable Trading Cards, rare one-shot manga releases, digital-only promotions, and access to additional subscriber-only content including creator interviews and insightful promo videos.

Current WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP issues feature the latest chapters of many of the world’s most popular series such as ALL YOU NEED IS KILL, BLEACH, NARUTO, NISEKOI, ONE PIECE, TORIKO, SERAPH OF THE END and WORLD TRIGGER. Monthly series such as BLUE EXORCIST and YU-GI-OH! ZEXAL debut on the closest Monday after the Japanese release. Also serialized in the anthology is fan favorite ONE-PUNCH MAN, and the most recent addition to the magazine, STEALTH SYMPHONY. More information on WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP is available at: http://shonenjump.viz.com.

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan. Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages. VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products. Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.